This invention relates generally to automobile door hinges and, more particularly, to a door lift-off hinge assembly suitable for mounting a vehicle door that can be temporarily removed and remounted in a ready manner.
The U.S. patent application Ser. No. 06/918,219; now U.S. Pat. No. 4,720,895 issued Jan. 26, 1988 to Peebles; entitled Quick-Disconnect Hinge, filed Oct. 10, 1986 and assigned to the same assignee as the instant application. The Peebles invention relates to an improved door hinge that enables vehicle doors to be quickly removed and rehung during the assembly line advancement of the vehicle body. Such a procedure allows the interior of the removed doors to be more conveniently equipped and trimmed while supported on a suitable assembly fixture. The U.S. Pat. No. 4,685,208 issued on Aug. 11, 1987 to Sekiraku discloses an apparatus for assembling vehicles which is operative to detach doors from vehicle bodies during assembly line travel and then to reattach each of the doors to the corresponding body.
In the Peebles invention the hinge is formed of two readily separable members, i.e., a body-half main member and a body-half U-shaped extension member. The body-half main member includes a channel shaped flat mounting plate portion engaging the vehicle body door opening pillar with its one end bent outwardly to define an angled portion. The extension member has a planar base portion formed with a pair of extended side flanges in the form of parallel outstanding legs each terminating in a hinge knuckle. The main member angled portion is sized for snug nested reception of the U-shaped extension. The extension base portion has an aperture that is readily aligned with an aperture on the angled portion bight wall. Upon tightening a single threaded bolt in the aligned apertures the members juxtaposed surfaces are shaped for mutual clamped abutment preventing separation or relative rotation of the members about the axis of the bolt. By virtue of holding the door upper and lower hinge pintle pins in proper relation to each other the precise original door mounting location is maintained upon remounting the door.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,619,016 issued Oct. 28, 1986 to Brockhaus discloses a hinge attachment arrangement for an adjustable, detachable attachment of motor vehicle doors. The Brockhaus patent includes a pair of hinge wings interconnected by a hinge pin with one hinge wing to be secured to a vehicle door and the other to a fastening element secured to the door frame on the vehicle. The other hinge wing if secured to the fastening element by at least one bolt. The other hinge wing and the fastening element also have at least one continuous borehole for receiving a plug or bolt when the other hinge wing is attached to the fastening element. The borehole and the plug or bolt form guide surfaces which slide one relative to the other so that the guide surfaces afford self-centering and the elimination of play in the assembly of the hinge attachment arrangement.